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Kobe Bryant's 48 points in the Lakers' 123-121 overtime victory against the SuperSonics weren't the most remarkable part of his evening. We've seen him go for 40-plus before -- 86 times prior to Monday night, to be precise.

The newsworthy part came afterward, in an on-court interview with KCAL TV, in which he talked about injured center Andrew Bynum. Bryant called Bynum a "terrific, terrific player," then dropped this quote: "We're a championship-caliber team when he's in the lineup."

For Bryant to speak of these Lakers in championship terms, now that's significant. It was an unexpected bit of good news on the same day the Lakers learned Bynum will miss the next eight weeks while recovering from the knee injury he suffered Sunday night against Memphis.